There was a time when the trio of Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall and Jeremy Bates had the NFL in their collective palms.

Three games into the 2008 season, Cutler, the Broncos’ quarterback, and Bates, the team’s offensive pass coordinator, had the Broncos averaging 38.0 points per game. The 2007 New England Patriots, who finished 16-0, set an NFL scoring record that still stands at 36.8 points per game.

Marshall, a star receiver who was constantly in offseason trouble, was suspended from playing in the first game that year, but had 18 catches for 166 yards in the second game and six catches for 155 in the third.

The Broncos were 3-0. Bates was 32, lauded as a boy offensive genius. Cutler, 25, and Marshall, 24, were the league’s newest rock stars, on their way to their first Pro Bowl.

For all their wondrous youth and talent, though, Cutler, Marshall and Bates could not overcome their maturity issues.

The Broncos were whipped in Game 4 by the Kansas City Chiefs, who entered the game 0-3. The Broncos would later lose 41-7 at New England before a bye week, and they blew a three-game lead in the AFC West with three to go, which eventually led to everything blowing up at Dove Valley.

In short order, all three young men would be banished from the Broncos. And now the trio is back together with the Chicago Bears. Four years later. Four years older. Presumably, four years more mature.

“First off, I’d say the same thing about you and me,” Bears coach Lovie Smith said last week at the NFC coaches breakfast in Palm Beach, Fla. “We’ve matured a lot.”

I just looked in the mirror. No sense arguing with a man named Lovie.

“Sometimes, especially when you’re young coming into the league, it is that way,” Smith said. “I have never coached Brandon, so I haven’t been with him in that role yet. I’m going to see him a little bit further along in his career. I know with Jay, I just think that’s a part of life. Experience teaches you an awful lot.”

Cutler has since been validated for his public spat with new coach Josh McDaniels following the 2008 season. McDaniels, as it turned out, had relationship issues with nearly everyone. But Cutler has also been humbled. He had a rough first year in 2009 with the Bears, then was harshly criticized by his peers, if not his teammates, at the end of his second season in Chicago for not toughing out a knee sprain in an NFC championship game loss to Green Bay.

Bates was fired by McDaniels and later by Seattle’s Pete Carroll.

Marshall was banished not only by McDaniels, but also by the Miami Dolphins.

Cutler, Bates and Marshall. All three were divorced from McDaniels. All three have yet to realize expectations in part because McDaniels wasn’t their only problem.

What we remember about Cutler was he didn’t treat people well.

What we remember about Bates was he cussed worse than a sailor on the practice field.

What we remember about Marshall is he could be the most charming, friendliest guy one day, pouty and irritable the next.

“We all have a starting spot, and we grow from there,” Smith said.

And then Smith veered into the reason why Cutler, Bates and Marshall received their second chances — their undeniable talent.

“I think we have a special locker room with our staff and our players,” he said. “I think it’s going to be a good fit.”

Smith has his critics in Chicago, but his personality oozes calm and even-keel maturity. This is a good fit.

Mike Klis was with The Denver Post from Jan. 1, 1998 before leaving in 2015 to join KUSA 9News. He covered the Rockies and Major League Baseball until the 2005 All-Star break, when he was asked to start covering the Broncos.

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